Indistinguishable SF: "Nightflyers and Other Stories" by George R.R. Martin

Dragons have always been cool, Video games have always been cool, real ale has always been cool. (Union) Rugby has always been cool, Science Fiction has always been cool, and Fantasy has always been cool. Football has always been shit, same as radio 4 depressing plays that the controller seems to think everyone has been to Cambridge/Oxford and therefore they likIf you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

Indistinguishable SF: "Nightflyers and Other Stories" by George R.R. Martin

Dragons have always been cool, Video games have always been cool, real ale has always been cool. (Union) Rugby has always been cool, Science Fiction has always been cool, and Fantasy has always been cool. Football has always been shit, same as radio 4 depressing plays that the controller seems to think everyone has been to Cambridge/Oxford and therefore they like this sort of thing as it’s so highbrow. Kill a mockingbird yada yada, the Royal Shakespeare Taliban society again shit. Give me dragon slaying and space ship battles any day of the week. There's very little in life that can't be improved by adding dragons. Anyway, since when was a game of thrones considered to be fantasy? To me, it is fantasy with the guts ripped out of it. Take away the undead and the dragons, and you would see no difference to the overall story. It is a medieval soap drama with fantasy elements tacked on. Fair enough, Martins wants to move the genre on - he wants to go beyond epic sagas and doomed heroes, and the romance that underpins all fantasy, but what has he replaced it with? Sex and misogyny....more

I have to admit that, although I love George R.R. Martin's writing, I didn't have the highest of hopes for this collection of short stories by him, written in the 1970's., simply because author's early works are not always as good as later ones.. and the cheesy cover art didn't help either, I must admit.

However - I was wrong. The stories in this collection are truly top-flight sci-fi, with a horror edge. All demonstrate Martin's amazing talent for characterization, and are both emotionally effecI have to admit that, although I love George R.R. Martin's writing, I didn't have the highest of hopes for this collection of short stories by him, written in the 1970's., simply because author's early works are not always as good as later ones.. and the cheesy cover art didn't help either, I must admit.

However - I was wrong. The stories in this collection are truly top-flight sci-fi, with a horror edge. All demonstrate Martin's amazing talent for characterization, and are both emotionally effective and thought-provoking.

Nightflyers:

The title story is the most formulaic - it's a bit like 2001: A Space Odyssey meets Alien.A diverse team of research investigators on a badly-funded space mission run into trouble, and gradually meet diverse (and unpleasant) ends. Is their mysterious captain to blame? Or is the truth yet spookier than that?However, familiarity of the horror plot structure aside, the story succeeds (where many such tales do not) in being genuinely tense and scary.This story (novelette?) was made into a movie in 1987, which I've never seen. However, it apparently stars Michael Praed (of the BBC's Robin Hood fame), which makes me want to see it right there!

Override:

A short but effective story which explores labor relations on an alien planet.On an unspoiled paradise planet, executed criminals from offworld are mechanically turned into remote-controlled zombies used for onerous mining labor. But when a corporate boss who thinks the practice is disgusting threatens a corporate takeover which would ban the corpse-handlers, violence ensues.Notable for its remarkable use of perspective - the reader doesn't really side with what one might expect...

Weekend in a War Zone:

In a not-so-distant future, hardworking citizens can take the weekend off and play tennis, golf... or pay to sign up for a weekend of war games, tromping through the woods, roughing it, and 'playing soldier' - much as many people do in today's paintball games - except in these games, the guns are real, and casualties are frequent. A nerdy businessman signs up for one of these weekends for the first time, hoping to impress his boss into giving him a promotion - but ends up discovering a side to himself he hadn't guessed at.Excellent psychological insight....

And Seven Times Never Kill Man:

A group of militaristic Christian-esque fundamentalists colonizes a world inhabited by a furry, peaceful intelligent alien race whom they view as animals to be slaughtered, in order to clear the way for settlement. An independent trader is shocked and horrified by the violence, and tries to organize a resistance - but the effort is worse than pathetic. BUT - an unpredictable twist ensues!

Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring:

A brief but interesting musing on religion and the origins of universes, as a scientist experiments with wormhole technology.

A Song for Lya:

A competent and professional psychic couple are asked to investigate why human colonists are converting in disturbing numbers to an alien religious suicide cult. But what they discover may rip them apart.... A melancholy musing on love and the true desires of humanity......more

I feel like this has been done before. Regardless it was still a suspenseful read. A group boards the nightflyer never having met the pilot, nor do they ever...then things quickly get out of hand and people start dying. You learn it is all mother's fault. Kind of like psycho. I am excited for the new show on SyFy and just learned it was a movie in the 80s, so I will definitely check that out.

Nightflyers was ok. I wanted to give this a read before the show comes out. The others were kinda meh. They arent related to Nightflyers. I've never really felt like Martin was an amazing writer, he just has fun plots. If youre in the Mood for awesome scifi where youre wanting the world buidling and plotting of TSOIAF then read The Expanse series. I read one of the short stories a night. Its an easy read but ive read much better scifi. I honestly can see why this didnt really take off to the samNightflyers was ok. I wanted to give this a read before the show comes out. The others were kinda meh. They arent related to Nightflyers. I've never really felt like Martin was an amazing writer, he just has fun plots. If youre in the Mood for awesome scifi where youre wanting the world buidling and plotting of TSOIAF then read The Expanse series. I read one of the short stories a night. Its an easy read but ive read much better scifi. I honestly can see why this didnt really take off to the same degree as his other series....more

You sneaky son of Nebula and Hugo! How dare you?!? You tricked me. Yes, you did. All I expected was some nice sci-fi, maybe some aliens, maybe some laser guns and tons of flying spaceships. And I would have been satisfied. Completely. But you... You... You made me read horror instead of sci-fi! And it was scary!

Detailed opinions:Nightflyers - sneaky. Weird. But good. But it's pure horror. The idea is interesting and I also loved the secondary story about volcryn. Even if I stillOhhh, dear GRRM,

You sneaky son of Nebula and Hugo! How dare you?!? You tricked me. Yes, you did. All I expected was some nice sci-fi, maybe some aliens, maybe some laser guns and tons of flying spaceships. And I would have been satisfied. Completely. But you... You... You made me read horror instead of sci-fi! And it was scary!

Detailed opinions:Nightflyers - sneaky. Weird. But good. But it's pure horror. The idea is interesting and I also loved the secondary story about volcryn. Even if I still have some questions about it. It will be cool to see it as a TV series and I believe some other stories would make a great TV shows too. It's typical horror in space, but I liked the twist.

"Override" - kinda predictable, but fun to read.

"Weekend in a War Zone" - that's my kind of party. Vicious, but great. Kinda predictable, but I liked the concept. The main character is my inner Goddess.

"And Seven Times Never Kill Man" - I didn't get this one, or the point of it. But the world building was cool.

"Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring" - great concept also. Interesting in scientific way.

A Song for Lya - so, listen. If you heart was not broken by reading sad books since you were a child, this one will break it. It's so sad. I think it would make a great TV show too. Please, do. A great look at religion and love.

Overall: I am pleasantly surprised - the stories had depth, emotion, unexpected factors. Somehow it was hard to believe that it was written ~1970-1980 since they felt very recent. GRRM is great at creating world, cultures and descriptions.

This science-fiction novella has a really interesting premise but slightly less interesting execution.

The setting here deserves a lot of praise. The author could easily have produced something quite bland, with a (at first glance) paint-by-numbers environment: it's far in the future; we're following a cast of science academic-types on a high-minded quest; the whole story takes place on a spaceship. Yet, George RR Martin manages to pull off something very cool and compelling with the atmosphere.This science-fiction novella has a really interesting premise but slightly less interesting execution.

The setting here deserves a lot of praise. The author could easily have produced something quite bland, with a (at first glance) paint-by-numbers environment: it's far in the future; we're following a cast of science academic-types on a high-minded quest; the whole story takes place on a spaceship. Yet, George RR Martin manages to pull off something very cool and compelling with the atmosphere. There's a *lot* of suspense here, and the thick sense of tension and mystery alone made this a real page-turner for me.

I won't reveal any plot details that aren't given in the first two or three pages. The story is driven forward by basically two really well-done questions. The first is: what's up with this bizarre ship and captain? The second is: what's up with these aliens that the ship is chasing?

Now, my central complain about this novella is that I don't think the questions receive particularly rewarding questions. However, there is no doubt that the author succeeded in getting me to turn every page in hopes of receiving the answer. The result is that the reader is treated to a story with lots of suspense.

Plus, the pacing is great. There's hardly a wasted word in this story. The prose is sometimes austere -- and that's a compliment. It adds to the suspense and the strong pacing that nobody would ever characterize this book as dense.

I want to lastly comment on the characters here. There is hardly much time devoted exclusively to fleshing out the characters (with one notable, exceptional episode that anyone reading this novella will recall right away). Still, there's a sense here that George RR Martin identified early on which characters he wanted to stand out among the (rather slim) cast, and he very carefully developed them subtly, especially through dialogue and repetition of certain phrases. This way, the reader walks out with an understanding of who some characters are as people without ever really being told directly. It's a really instructive example of good characterization for aspiring writers, I think.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a rather short, compelling piece of science fiction....more

I read the first printing of this back when I was a teen, and I remember it stayed with me for a long time. Such a cool, creepy novella! I loved the two MCs of Nightflyers specifically and their strange romance. I loved the space sci-fi. I loved it so much I still have the original paperback. I go through a lot of books and many of them end up being resold or given away. I have a very short list of books that I keep forever. This was one of them.

This novella is about a crew who explore deep space to observe a mythical race of species. They end up getting more than they bargained for. This is your basic horror story that has deep space as its setting.

I am the type of person who needs to read the source material before the visual rendition is shown and SyFy has made this novella into visual form. Sometimes I am glad that I read the material beforehanThis review is for the novella with the same name of this book.

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.

This novella is about a crew who explore deep space to observe a mythical race of species. They end up getting more than they bargained for. This is your basic horror story that has deep space as its setting.

I am the type of person who needs to read the source material before the visual rendition is shown and SyFy has made this novella into visual form. Sometimes I am glad that I read the material beforehand and this is one of those times. What sold me on this novella was the setting. This crew is all alone within deep space and there is no chance for help as we get the mystery and horror of the crew being attacked. There is some nice graphic images that accompany the horror scenes. The mystery aspect is well done as we get hints throughout to it and the requisite red herring. The only issue I had with the story is that I wish that the characters were fleshed out a little more. Some of them ran into each other and they were not distinguishable. This could be a case of this being a short story instead of a full novel.

If you are a fan of science fiction mixed with horror this is a must read. I enjoyed it and I understand why SyFy decided to produce it. I am looking forward to the television event when it finally premieres. ...more

Nightflyers & Other Stories is a collection of odd sci-fi stories with varying amounts of horror added in. The great thing about odd stories is that they are surprising. They have the potential to really hit a sweet spot for a reader. Two hit that spot for me. Your mileage may vary.

"Nightflyers" is a good sci fi story. A small science team sets out to study a legendary sublight alien armada called the volcryn. Unfortunately, they find themselves traveling on a haunted house in space. The sciNightflyers & Other Stories is a collection of odd sci-fi stories with varying amounts of horror added in. The great thing about odd stories is that they are surprising. They have the potential to really hit a sweet spot for a reader. Two hit that spot for me. Your mileage may vary.

"Nightflyers" is a good sci fi story. A small science team sets out to study a legendary sublight alien armada called the volcryn. Unfortunately, they find themselves traveling on a haunted house in space. The science fiction is very enjoyable. I love everything about the setting, from the ship to the aliens referenced to the volcryn. The mission to find the volcryn is intriguing. Unfortunately, the horror elements felt lacking. While I grew to like Royd and Melantha, the others were largely interchangeable unlikable cardboard cutouts. The story did not effectively build tension; Martin tells the reader the ship is tense, and then shows a bunch of characters acting like jerks. Then the scares happen. I think a particular scare should have been toned down dramatically. I was not scared by the story. I expect the upcoming television adaptation will be an improvement. 3.5/5

"Override" is the oddest story. Basically, an independent miner who uses technologically reanimated corpses to mine faces pressure from a corporate executive. "Override" could be described as a traditional zombie story told from the perspective of the voodoo priest. From that concept, I feel like there should have been more horror. The corpses were used for action and drama, but not actual horror. Any horror comes more from the crushing weigh of inequality and economic struggle. The ending also seemed rather abrupt and open. At least Karabaijian is likable. 3/5

"Weekend in a War Zone" is flawless. The main character pays a company to fight in an actual shooting war in the hopes of getting a promotion. Its display of toxic masculinity and social pressure is chilling. The characters hit close to home. This is now one of my favorite short stories of all time. 5/5

"And Seven Times Never Kill Man" is another odd story. References to alien species suggest it is set in the same universe as "Nightflyers." It is about the clash of civilizations: a militaristic religious human cult and peaceful primitive aliens. Many ideas are not fully realized. Where did the Steel Angels come from? Why don't the Jaenshi resist? Is Bakkalon real? What should readers get from this story? 2/5

“Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring” was disappointing. It is about a research crew at artificial wormhole to an empty region of space. One crew member seems to lose his mind due to staring into the void, and an experiment goes wrong. The story fundamentally misunderstands the expansion of space-time and conservation of energy. The questions touched upon are uninteresting and the plot languid. 1/5

"A Song for Lya" is an amazing story. It is beautifully written, deeply moving, and utterly disturbing. Telepaths are hired to discover why humans are joining an alien religion that involves ritual parasitism and self-sacrifice. Adherents literally and joyfully give over their minds and bodies to the Greeshka parasite in exchange for unimaginable love and unity. I find this story disturbing because the Greeshka is as attractive as it is horrifying. Giving up my mind and identity is anathema to everything I believe. Still, I cannot ignore the bliss of the Joined. This story made me question my own values and life decisions. The only other story that ever affected me like this is Brave New World. “A Song for Lya” is in my mind the pinnacle of a certain type of science fiction. It tells a deeply human story with enduring themes in a way that would be impossible without the science fiction elements. The story forces the reader to consider their own values and beliefs regarding individuality and community, ego versus happiness, isolation and connection. Countless stories have explored these themes, but the Greeshka allows a unique avenue for contemplation. 5/5...more

I like a bit of Science Fiction to break up the monotony of ground novels lol! I know it was the Author who first attracted me, & most, to reading this, but it's most definitely a collection very different to any Game of Thrones the reader kinda thinks of! It's a fab collection of short stories that I got so I could have something bite-size to read as a change - I was thinking of putting it down after each and breaking them up with a novel each time, but I couldn't stop reading, I can't leavI like a bit of Science Fiction to break up the monotony of ground novels lol! I know it was the Author who first attracted me, & most, to reading this, but it's most definitely a collection very different to any Game of Thrones the reader kinda thinks of! It's a fab collection of short stories that I got so I could have something bite-size to read as a change - I was thinking of putting it down after each and breaking them up with a novel each time, but I couldn't stop reading, I can't leave a book unread and start another unless It's really really bad lol! And then I wouldn't review it, as if there ain't nothing nice to say keep it zipped lol! I may have saved one or two til after my next novel, but I couldn't! Hope you enjoy these as much, other readers!...more

This is not the first time I've read George RR Martin's science fiction. I'd read a story of his in an issue of Lightspeed magazine; I think the Lightspeed story was a newer story, though. (Also, Wild Cards if you consider that SF) Most, if not all, of the stories in this book were written in the late 70s. They definitely have a classic SF style similar to Asimov or Clarke where the characters have these long philosophical debates about whatever the moral or plot twist of the story is going to bThis is not the first time I've read George RR Martin's science fiction. I'd read a story of his in an issue of Lightspeed magazine; I think the Lightspeed story was a newer story, though. (Also, Wild Cards if you consider that SF) Most, if not all, of the stories in this book were written in the late 70s. They definitely have a classic SF style similar to Asimov or Clarke where the characters have these long philosophical debates about whatever the moral or plot twist of the story is going to be. I enjoy it, but it may not be for everyone.

As it says on the cover, this book consists of the novella of Nightflyers and then some other short stories by GRRM.

Nightflyers: A good, classic SF novella with lots of foreshadowing, red herrings, and suspense. I got this book because next week (2 Dec, I think) the SyFy TV adaptation will be released. I didn't want to be spoiled on the plot, so I read the book. Should make for a pretty great adaptation as long as they keep the season count low. Martin does a great job at his take on Alien, but written by him. One tiny plot point is a bit regressive sexually. (view spoiler)[The captain of The Nightflyer agrees to help the main character if she has sex with him. For reasons explained in the story, he's never been with anyone (hide spoiler)]. Describe the story in one phrase: (view spoiler)[Alien meets Psycho (hide spoiler)]

Override: a short story on a planet where people control corpses to do manual labor. Skirts a lot of potential metaphorical issues in favor of a wild West story ported to science fiction. What I mean by that is that in other hands, or perhaps even if GRRM had written the story today, there would have been more of a social commentary involved in that. Instead with the wild west we get a fun story that gives you something to think about later.

Weekend in a war zone - a satire of work team building exercises that takes place in a future where people sign up to fight in a war for the weekend. It unfolds so well that even as I kept trying to guess the ending, it wasn't until a few paragraphs before the end that I could predict it.

And seven times never kill man - while GRRM plants the clue very early on (like first couple paragraphs) the final plot twist was so brilliant. Definitely could be a twilight zone episode. The plot is, at a high level, a space version of the Catholic Missionaries who took over the Americas in the 1500s and 1600s.

Nor the many colored fires - the first one that I didn't like. Didn't quite get the point of it. It takes place on a station that studies natural wormholes, but almost nothing of the plot has anything to do with the setting.

A song for Lya - I predicted the ending, but it was still a fun read to see how GRRM would get us there. Humans are making a colony on a planet that had a metropolis before humans stopped being hunter-gatherers, but PLOT TWIST! the humans are somehow more advanced than the aliens. Lots of philosophy about happiness vs unhappiness in tech creation and what human interaction would be like with telepaths. ...more

This was a collection of 5 sci-fi short stories.Override and Weekend in a War Zone were my favorites, I think because the scale was a bit smaller, so it was easy to get into them quickly as short stories. Plus, I liked the concepts. They kind of reminded me of Black Mirror episodes.Nightflyers (the main story) was more mixed - I liked the mystery and horror elements, but some of the wording was just really awkward and ultimately the reveal wasn't that exciting. A Song For Lya also had an interesThis was a collection of 5 sci-fi short stories.Override and Weekend in a War Zone were my favorites, I think because the scale was a bit smaller, so it was easy to get into them quickly as short stories. Plus, I liked the concepts. They kind of reminded me of Black Mirror episodes.Nightflyers (the main story) was more mixed - I liked the mystery and horror elements, but some of the wording was just really awkward and ultimately the reveal wasn't that exciting. A Song For Lya also had an interesting premise and mystery element to it, but at the end, I didn't really feel like the resolution was that satisfying. ...more

I’ll admit that the only reason I read this short story is because of the series coming to Syfy. And because I love Ice and Fire series. It was an interesting story. I enjoyed it but I can’t figure what they will ever do to it to make a series

This is a collection of six good early (1970's) science fiction stories by Martin, four of them from Analog. There's a blurb on the cover that says "Now a major motion picture," but they lied... it was a minor picture, and not a very good one. Nightflyers is a very good novella, however, with a nice dollop of a horror feel to it. Two of the other stories are favorites of mine as well, A Song For Lya and And Seven Time Never Kill Man.

As is often the case, there were stories in here I enjoyed very much and stories I didn't really enjoy all that much. All in all, however, it was a very good short story collection. Especially considering how damn young he was when he wrote these. Are they partially pretentious? Sure. Are they fake-deep? Yeah, I guess. Did I enjoy the hell out of them possibly exactly because of that latter thing? Damn right I did.

The title story, Nightflyers, was the title story most likely just because it is As is often the case, there were stories in here I enjoyed very much and stories I didn't really enjoy all that much. All in all, however, it was a very good short story collection. Especially considering how damn young he was when he wrote these. Are they partially pretentious? Sure. Are they fake-deep? Yeah, I guess. Did I enjoy the hell out of them possibly exactly because of that latter thing? Damn right I did.

The title story, Nightflyers, was the title story most likely just because it is now the Netflix series (which I have not seen yet), but it was one of the stories I didn't enjoy quite as much. It managed to surprise me in a few places, but all in all it felt somehow too familiar, like something I'd already read. Some undefined "something", mind, but too familiar still to be thoroughly enjoyable or surprising. Not a bad story, and I'll be interested to see how the series works, as based on the trailer it is rather different.

Override was one of those stories I enjoyed while reading it, but it somehow didn't leave an impression. The same can be said for Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring. Weekend in a War Zone, then again, I didn't even really enjoy while reading. That was, for me, the worst part of the whole book. Not a bad story, just so much worse than the rest of it, in my opinion.

For me, the best parts of this short story collection were And Seven Times Never Kill Man and A Song for Lya. Both deal in matters of religion, and the latter focuses quite a lot on what you could call, I guess, the human condition. And Seven Times Never Kill Man was probably the most surprising story in this collection, story-wise, and I think that is why I kept thinking about it after finishing it. I often forget the names and authors (if read in a collection with multiple authors) of short stories, but tend to remember the surprising or especially good ones for a long while, and I feel like this might be one of those.

A Song for Lya is probably the most "oh look at how deep I am!" story in the whole collection, but it got to me. I knew what was going to happen, and still, it got to me. Maybe it is because I, like so many other people, know that need to strive for something bigger than ourselves, be it money, religion, love, you name it. And I'm sure most people will react to it with a "bleh, seen it before" or "ugh, who does this guy think he is", but I read this very much feeling the feelings I was supposed to feel reading it. In fact, I just finished it some 30 mins ago and I still feel like I need a goddamn hug.

I also just had a glance at the reviews and felt somehow annoyed with people who didn't like it, so I guess I did like it more than I realized, even. (There was a note of Martin switching to SF from fantasy, while in fact it was the other way around, dangit people, get your facts straight. And no, the Expanse series is not better, not after the first few books. Maybe not after the first, really. And yes, my opinions are of course CORRECT and anyone who disagrees is WRONG. *wink*)

I liked it. I'm hoping most people read all of it, not just the Nightflyers story. There is a definite variety in these stories, even though there are common themes and even shared worlds. And yes, it is rather different from Game of Thrones, but that is not necessarily a bad thing....more

I've never read anything by George R.R. Martin, and someone had recommended this book.Nightflyers is a collection of short stories, starting with the titular story.

I was EXTREMELY disappointed.The story is about a scientist who's hired a scientific team & a ship to rendezvous with a supposedly mythical ship that has been traveling the universe for eons. The ship's captain doesn't reveal himself to the scientists, except by hologram, and this becomes a problem for them. They start to speculatI've never read anything by George R.R. Martin, and someone had recommended this book.Nightflyers is a collection of short stories, starting with the titular story.

I was EXTREMELY disappointed.The story is about a scientist who's hired a scientific team & a ship to rendezvous with a supposedly mythical ship that has been traveling the universe for eons. The ship's captain doesn't reveal himself to the scientists, except by hologram, and this becomes a problem for them. They start to speculate why, and then start dying, one-by-one.

The beginning of the story is beautifully written and wonderfully engaging.But unfortunately, the story doesn't retain the promise of this beginning.

All of the scientists behaved like whiny, oversexed teenagers, wildly speculating about the captain and becoming more and more hysterical that they can't see him in person. They're supposed to be scientists!!Scientists are logical, they look for facts, they have rigorous methods of investigation, they don't deal in superstitious, paranoid speculation. But none of these scientists were logical. These characters were, by and large, unbelievable.

Some of the writing was really wonderful, and some of it was very stilted. It didn't feel like it all came from the same hand. There's no co-author mentioned, so I don't know if there was a co-author or ghostwriter, only that the writing just didn't always feel consistent.

There were parts of the plot that I really liked -- the idea of the mythical ship that has traveled the universe for eons and become part of so many different cultures' lore is really original -- where did the ship come from? Why is it always traveling? What does it want? Who are the occupants?

But the main plot -- the hysterical scientists and their untimely demises -- wasn't very original at all. It was closer to a horror novel than a science fiction novel.

Because George R.R. Martin has such a huge following, and his books are so popular, I know he's a creative and outstanding author. But there's very little of that on display in this book.

After suffering through the story, Nightflyers, I did not read the rest of the short stories in the book.

George R.R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies,George R.R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.

In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.

As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.

In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.

Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.

Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.

“I accept what I am, but I did not choose it. I experience human life in the only way I can, vicariously. I am a voracious consumer of books, tapes, holoplays, fictions and drama and histories of all sorts. I have experimented with dreamdust.”
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